Abstract

Currently the average consumer makes decisions about the products they consume greatly from the organoleptic properties, causing them to be more demanding with regards to the sensory quality. The sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) is a fish that is associated with the production of caviar, but its meat is poorly understood by consumers. The aim of this paper is to describe the sensory quality of the meat produced in farmed sturgeon, using sensory analysis and instrumental measures, which should provide information and arguments that allow marketing enhance the product and facilitate consumption by the consumer. The work has done in collaboration with the company Caviar Nacarri, S.A., located in Les (Vall d'Aran) and producer of caviar and sturgeon meat. To conduct the study, the first step was the formation, training and validation of a panel of 10 people elected to the attributes of the fish. The second step was identify the attributes conducting the tasting, the parameters chosen being: odor, appearance, flavor and texture. To facilitate the definition of the characteristics of such an unfamiliar product, sturgeon meat compared with two known species that can be considered related to different attributes, such as salmon and swordfish. The last step was the identification of statistical results obtained by the taste panel to identify the characteristics of sturgeon, relating fish samples to compare. The instrumental analysis involved measuring the texture using a texture analyzer and determination of meat color using a colorimeter. The results allow to define the sturgeon meat as meat similar to salmon organoleptic characteristics.